Bag closure device

ABSTRACT

A generally plate-like bag closure device that includes an entry throat which guides the twisted neck of a bag into an interior mouth section, the bag&#39;&#39;s twisted neck being retained within the mouth section by a plurality of contiguous teeth to hold the bag in a closed attitude. The mouth section of the plate-shaped bag closure is subdivided into a closure area and a latching area, each area being provided with a plurality of teeth that are contiguous one to the other. Further, the teeth within the mouth section are disposed in mirror relation relative to a center line that bisects the mouth section and the entry throat.

United States Patent 1191 Wood [ 1 Dec. 16, 1975 BAG CLOSURE DEVICE 211 Appl. No; 516,445

[52] US. Cl 24/30.5 R; 24/305 S; 24/255 BS [51] Int. Cl.' B26B 19/00; 8268 13/00 [58] Field of Search 24/305 S, 255 BS, 255 BC,

24/DIG. 28, DIG. 29, DIG. 19, DIG. 22',

Primary Examiner-Paul R. Gilliam Assistant ExaminerVictor N. Sakran Attorney, Agent, or FirmWo0d, Herron & Evans [5 7] ABSTRACT A generally plate-like bag closure device that includes an entry throat which guides the twisted neck of a bag into an interior mouth section, the bags twisted neck being retained within the mouth section by a plurality of contiguous teeth to hold the bag in a closed attitude. The mouth section of the plate-shaped bag closure is subdivided into a closure area and a latching area, each area being provided with a plurality of teeth that are contiguous one to the other. Further, the teeth within the mouth section are disposed in mirror relation relative to a center line that bisects the mouth section and the entry throat.

3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures US. Patent Dec. 16,1975 3,925,852

. BAG CLOSURE DEVICE relative to the easy ingress, of the twisted bag neck This invention relates to bag closure devices. More particularly, this invention relates to..a-novel bag closure device of the type that depends primarily-. -on the resiliency of the material from which same is made to confine a twisted bag neck in a closure attitude.

Bag closure devices of many different types are well known to the art. A common use of such bag closure devices is to close the necks of bags, e.g., polyethylene bags, in which food products are packaged to maintain freshness of the food products marketed within those bags.

One basic type of bag closure device is simply a flexi ble wire shaped element adapted to be Wrapped around a bags neck, the free ends of the wire element being twisted together so as to tighten the loop formed by the wire element about the neck of the bag. Another basic type of bag closure device is a doughnutor ring shaped element having a closed outer periphery, the inner periphery of that element being provided with spaced apart points of some kind or another which tend to grip a bags neck when that neck is pushed through the annulus defined by the ring shaped element; typical of this basic type bag closure are those devices illustrated in Pat. Nos. 3,170,213, 3,348,595 and 3,357,070. Another basic type,of bag closure deviceprovides an entry throat from the external periphery of theplate shaped device into an empty mouth shaped cavity defined within the periphery of that device, the bags neck being confined within the mouth becauseof the limited width passageway that interconnects the entry throat with the mouth; typical of this basictype bag closure are those devices illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,257,695, 3,264,698, 3,270,874 and 3,417,912.

It has been the primary objective of this invention to provide an improved bag closure device that is easy to operate, and that maintains a bag substantially completely closed whether same is used with a bagfabricated of a lightweight material such aspolyethylene sheeting or a heavyweight material such as kraft paper or a mesh material such as nylon netting.

In accord with this objective, the generally plate like bagclosure device of this invention includes an entry throat which guides the twisted neck of a bag into an interior mouth section, the bags twisted neck being retained within the mouth section by a. plurality of contiguous teeth to retain the bag in a closed attitude. The mouth section of the plate shaped bag closure is subdivided into a closure area and a latching area, each area being provided with a plurality of teeth that are contiguous one to the other. Further, the teeth within the mouth section are disposed in mirror relation relative to a center line that bisects the mouth and the entry throat. More specifically, the mouths closure area is provided with a plurality of contiguous teeth in a pie or wedge shaped geometry that extend from the center point of the closure area to fixed but flexible engagement with the periphery of the mouth section. Each half of the latching area is provided with a plurality of contiguous parallel teeth which extend from flexible but fixed engagement with the periphery of the mouth section into contiguous relationship at the center line of the mouth section. The parallel teeth of each half of the latching area are oriented or angled toward the center of the mouth section away from the entry throat of the device to permit easy ingress, and difficult egress when it is desired to confine same within the mouth section. I I

1 Other objectives and advantages of the invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a topplan view illustrating the bag closure device of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the longitudinal center line of the device illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the bag closure device in closure relationship with the twisted neck of a bag, and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 3 but with the bags twisted neck looped around the bag closure device. A

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the bag closure device 10 of this invention isbasically plate shaped in general configuration. Th'e'plateshaped element 10, which is normally flat, includes a pair of oppositely disposed jaws 11a, 11b that are connected together by a shoulder 12.

The nonconnected ends of the jaws 11a, 11b are configured so asto define an entry throat 13. The jaws lips 14a, 14b in the entry throat 13 area are structured such that same 'touch as at 15 when the plate shaped device is not in use with a bag 16.

.The entry throat 13 of the plate shaped bag closure device 10 interconnects a bag confining mouth or center section 17 with the exterior periphery 18 of the plate shaped element 10. The mouth section 17 is generally teardrop shaped in general configuration with the, apex being t'hie lip touching point 15, thus, the teardrop geometry'communicates with the entry throat 13. It is, of course; within this mouth or center section 17 that the twistedneck 20 of bag 16 is received when it is desired to interconnect the bag closure device 10 with the bag in a closure attitude, i.e., when it is desired to use the bag closure device with a bag 16.

Note particularly that the mouth or center section 17 of the bag closure device 10 is provided with a plurality of teeth 21, the side edges of each tooth being in very close or contiguous relation, i.e., in touching or almost touching relation, with the side edges of those teeth on each side thereof. All teeth 21 are approximately onethird the thickness of the closure device 10 and are fixed to the perip'h ery 22' of the teardrop shaped mouth section 17 at ahinge like joint 22h. Thus, the teeth are adapted to flex relative one to the other because of that hinge like interconnection. In other words, the cut edges of each tooth 21 are not connected relative one to the other, each tooth only being connected at its base on the hinge line 22h of its respective jaw 11a or 11b and the hinge line being defined as such because of the resiliency of the material from which the plate shaped element is fabricated.

The teeth 21 within the bag confining mouth section 17 are basically subdivided into two areas, namely, a closure area17a and a latching area 17b. Note particularly that the closure area 17a is made up of pie shaped or wedge shaped teeth 21a since that area is basically circular in configuration throughout an angle a of approximately 240 thereof; same constitutes the main portion of the teardrop shaped geometry of the mouth section 17. The circular closure area 17a opens toward the entry throat 13 of the plate shaped device 10, and itself defines a sub-entry throat 24 of substantially This sub-entry throat 24 is defined by lines 24a, 24b, and is divided by center line 25 of the mouth section 17 itself. Note that the center line 25 also bisects the entry throat 13 as well as bisects the mouth section 17, thereby disposing the teeth 21 throughout the mouth section in mirror relation relative to that center line 25.

In addition to the closure area 17a, the mouth section 17 also includes a latching area 17b that is made up of teeth parallel one to the other within each half 17b, 17b" of that latching area. The teeth 21 within each half 17b, 17b" of the latching area are angled relative to the center line 25 of the mouth section 17 at an angle at equal to one-half the angle a defined by the subentry throat 24 of the closure area 170. That is, the biased or angulated parallel teeth 21 within each half of the 17b, 17b" latching area 17b are directed toward the center line 25, and are angled toward the center point 26 of the teardrop shaped mouth section 17 away from the primary entry throat 13. Thus, the angled teeth 21 within the latching area 17b permit easy ingress of a twisted bag neck 20 toward the center 26 of the mouth section 17 and, along with the pie or wedge shaped teeth 21 within the closure section, cooperate to retain that twisted bag neck in a fully closed attitude. Of course, the bias angle a of the teeth 21 within the latching area 17b make for more difficult egress of the twisted neck 20 of the bag from the bag'closure device 10, thereby preventing inadvertent removal of a portion of the bag neck from the bag closure device which would, of course, adversely affect the substantially moisture-proof seal which is desired for the bag when it is to be closed.

The entire bag closure device is preferably fabricated of a resilient material, e.g., flexible plastic. Such is necessary to allow the relative motion of the teeth 21 one to the other in performing the closure function, and also in allowing the opposite lips 14a, 14b of the jaws 1 10, 11b to spread slightly apart relative one to the other to permit ingress and egress of the twisted bag neck from the mouth section 17 of the device 10. Further, and in those instances where a bag of relatively heavy material such as kraft paper is used with the device, it may be desirable that the jaws 11a, 1 1b of the bag closure device flex away from one another relative to the horizontal plane in which they normally lie to accommodate the larger diameter twisted bag neck 20. This limited flexure of the jaws 11a, 11b, which is permitted by virtue of the resilient nature of the material from which the bag closure device is fabricated in the shoulder 12 area of that device, may also be useful in admitting a twisted bag neck to the mouth section 17 of the device 10 where the bag is fabricated of a lighter weight material (e.g., polyethylene) as well as retracting it from the twisted mouth section of the device. Resilient materials which are useful in fabricating the bag closure device 10 of this invention include, for example, polyethylene and polypropylene.

In one method of use, and as illustrated in FIG. 3, that bag 16 with which the bag closure device 10 of this invention is to be used is first twisted into a ropelike body at the neck 20 of the bag. The bag closure device 4 10 is then forced onto the twisted bag neck 20 by pushing same along a path substantially perpendicular to the twisted bag neck, and forcing that bag neck through the main entry throat 13 of the device into the center point 26 of the teardrop shaped mouth section 17. After the bags twisted neck 20 is in place in the center section 17, the closure device is then pushed toward the contents of the bag 16. This deflects all fingers within the center section 17 in the same direction, thereby effectively closing the bag even if the twisted neck 20 is not wholly within the closure area 17a, i.e., even if a portion of the twisted neck 20 is within the latching area 17b.

Another method of use is shown in FIG. 4 where the bags twisted neck 20 is initially positioned as shown in FIG. 3. After the twisted neck 20 of the bag 16 has been so disposed, same is thereafter wrapped around the shoulder 12 of the bag closure device 10 and once again the remaining rope like body of the bags neck is inserted through the entry throat 13 of the device 10 into the mouths closure area 17a. This wraparound technique, in combination with the plurality of fingers 21 in the mouths closure area 17a as well as the plurality of fingers in the mouths latching area 17b, cooperates to retain the bag 16 in an almost waterproof closure attitude.

Having described in detail the preferred embodiment of my invention, what I desire to claim and protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A generally plate like bag closure device comprising an interior mouth section adapted to hold the neck of a bag in closure relationship within said mouth section, said mouth section being defined by oppositely disposed jaws interconnected by a shoulder portion, and said mouth section comprising a closure area and a latching area, each area being provided with a plurality of flexible teeth that are substantially touching along adjacent side edges when said teeth are not engaged with a bag, and structure defining an entry throat through which a bag neck may be disposed within said mouth section from the exterior of said bag closure device,

said teeth within said mouths closure area being each of a generally wedge shaped geometry which extend from the center point of said mouth section to the periphery of said mouth section, and said teeth within said mouths latching area being angled inwardly toward the center of said mouth section away from said entry throat.

2. A bag closure device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said mouth section and entry throat are bisected by a common center line, said teeth within said mouth section being disposed in mirror relationship about said center line.

3. A bag closure device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said jaws are at least about twice as thick as said fingers. 

1. A generally plate like bag closure device comprising an interior mouth section adapted to hold the neck of a bag in closure relationship within said mouth section, said mouth section being defined by oppositely disposed jaws interconnected by a shoulder portion, and said mouth section comprising a closure area and a latching area, each area being provided with a plurality of flexible teeth that are substantially touching along adjacent side edges when said teeth are not engaged with a bag, and structure defining an entry throat through which a bag neck may be disposed within said mouth section from the exterior of said bag closure device, said teeth within said mouth''s closure area being each of a generally wedge shaped geometry which extend from the center point of said mouth section to the periphery of said mouth section, and said teeth within said mouth''s latching area being angled inwardly toward the center of said mouth section away from said entry throat.
 2. A bag closure device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said mouth section and entry throat are bisected by a common center line, said teeth within said mouth section being disposed in mirror relationship about said center line.
 3. A bag closure device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said jaws are at least about twice as thick as said fingers. 